Depth
by hanatchi
Summary: As Haruka steps forward to save his teammates from the mighty jaws of raging water, he finds himself needing more help than required. Inspired by the end of Episode 5. Angst. Multi-chapter. Romance between various pairings later on.


Chapter 1 - Trouble Lurking

Menacingly, the storm persisted its mighty force, billows of wind swept up sand grains in big torrents, spitting the fine, powdery substance into Haruka's face as he dashed into the raging sea ahead of him.

_I have to save them. _

The once illuminated-by-glistening-stars sky had now become a dull, bible black whilst the sea had become almost impossible to navigate through, it was rather surprising how clear it has been only fractions of time ago.

Without looking back, the inky haired-swimmer dove through the epic torrents at a fast pace; not caring how much water was filling inside his mouth or how much he was shivering from the chilly cool air.

Panicked cries sounded from Nagisa, his shouting so loud that a few on the site had now accumulated. A frenzy of torches shone on the shoreline wondering what was going on so early in the morning.

Haruka felt light-headed and dizzy, the lack of oxygen getting at him like mice were nibbling on his toes until he heard an all-too-familiar voice in the distance.

"Oi, Haruka! I'll go for Makoto, you should get the other guy."

Vibrant red hair stuck out from the crazy rapids and plowed its way towards the azure-eyed teen.

"I got it."

Rei had long since stopped calling for help which was a very alarming sign, it was almost too late as he began to let the watery claws drag him under when he felt a numb, slippery grasp on his arm. But his mind had already submerged into the dark below as he couldn't register the stranger hoisting him out of the water. Between harsh pants and soft curses, Haruka managed to call out rather hoarsely.

"Rin! Is Makoto-"

"Ah, he's okay."

The magenta-haired teen had a barely conscious Makoto in tow. Whilst strain was clear in Haruka's appearance, ragged breathing and gasping for air; Rin looked no different. Sure, the red-eyed teen knew that he was frightened, but above all, determination to save his old friends kept him going. He was thankful for having studied abroad in Australia, for having continued with his passion to swim; unlike his rival.

It wasn't that simple to swim back to shore however as both Makoto and Rei weren't exactly small or lightweight. Rin managed to coax the brunette into swimming, taking it as easy as he wanted to. Rin knew it wasn't wise to push the barely conscious teen into doing such a strenuous thing in such a 'convenient' time such as now but it was practically impossible for Rin to carry someone as built as Makoto. The red-head retorted what had been said earlier that month, his old friends may not have swum as much but they clearly had exercised to a sizable degree. Even Nagisa, as small and delicate that he looked had an impressive physique.

An impressive wave, laden with rocks and other debris surged towards the group at an alarming pace. Rin, the stronger of the two all managed to support his posture and balance all whilst grabbing hold of Rei but Haruka was not so lucky...

The raven-haired teen became swallowed whole by the enormous volume of water whilst spluttering out a frazzled cry. Rin's eyes widened with shock as he registered the situation.

"Dammit, Haru. Not now." General concern and anger frothed in his speech, much unlike the normal cocky attitude that he donned whilst dealing with the former friend.

Heavy rain continued to descend from the sky like a thousand hooves pounding against the ground, clatters of thunder making a loud enough racket without the extra added noise of the crashing waves and distant shouts.

Back on the shoreline, the smaller blonde haired teen grovelled, almost silently now. Muffled sobs escaping from his slightly parted lips as he tried to block the nightmare scenarios ringing through his mind. Gou had rushed out just as panic-stricken as Nagisa and she too; saw the horror playing out in front of her like a warped and twisted reality show. Tenderly, she held Nagisa close and comforted him, tearing him away from his demons. Her arms wrapped around his petite yet muscular frame and she grimaced over how soaked the fair-haired teen actually was, he'd likely catch a cold in such predicament but non of that really mattered when there were more pressing matters.

"Hush, hush. It's alright Nagi-chan. Rin-niisan will definitely save them and we all know that Haru-chan is a strong swimmer, likewise Makoto."

Gou cooed gently, a warm sunflower-like smile embracing her features as she looked into the teens salmon-colored orbs.

Miho-sensei stood in the shelter, away from the harsh winds and rain clothed in a spa dressing gown. She punched the numbers of the emergency service line into the phone keypad quickly and held the phone closely to her ear as she waited for the monotone voice at the other end of the line. A bleeping noise sounded instead along with a frazzled intercom as the dread sunk in even further.

She waited patiently and mused to herself. _Oh my, those boys. Will they be okay? _She'd be sure to scold them for all the trouble they've caused her later on. It was almost as if she wasn't aware of the grave situation.

The hurricane-like weather had not only sent things into disarray but had also cut connection and power to the small island.

"Oh my, those boys. Will they be okay?"

* * *

A/N: I'm really excited for episode 6. Let's all raise our hands for episode 6. Woo!

Still, I really enjoy adding badly placed cliffhangers knowing that many of you will be crossing your arms with me and thinking to yourselves 'we want the next chapter.' Perhaps I'm just getting too ahead of myself. (∩´∀｀)∩

I'm still very much a beginner at writing so gomen if there are many errors. I'm British so we use different spellings in some cases.

As always, thankyou so much for reading!~ (｀・ω・´)


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